The heresy of Darius
Part 1 Darius spun, as a plasma shot landed squarely on his back, warp energy bursting from his hands as he tore the T’au limb from limb. He jumped from xenos to xenos, as he drew his scabbard and felled 3 of the aliens in 1 fell swoop. As the infamous marine drew from the Warp even more, and his speed increased tenfold even as his sword, ‘Flesh Reiver’ became a raging inferno of death. Blue skin and yellow armour staggered and dropped under the rage of the marine, unable to best him. As the T’au called a retreat, hordes of Gue’vesa ran forward, turned into zealots and heretics by the Ethereals and given weaponry far beyond the understanding of many tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. These brain-washed warriors lined up, using tactics not dissimilar to those used by the infantry sections of the Imperial Guard. Darius sheathed his sword as he stared upon his new foe, the powers of the Warp slowly leaving his body. Adelyn Dunkel stared down the scope of her sniper rifle, as she observed the powerful Librarian slaughter the human auxilia in front of him. Her reticle fell onto the head of Darius, and she stumbled backwards as a bullet narrowly missed her head. As the rogue Inquisitor glanced up, she caught a glance of the storm grey armour of the Stormbreakers, bearing a stalker bolt-gun. “Contact Terra, the Librarian Darius Medies is a heretic,”... Part 2 2 Terran months later Darius sat in his ship, surrounded by 5 marines of his chapter. They had been declared as heretics by Holy Terra and a kill order had been sent out for them, with their chapter hunting them down, and most others on high alert, they had no choice but to sit and ponder their choices and where to go next. Redemption was easier said than done, but the Eye of Terror was out of the question, lest they become possessed of mind. Darius had been spending the past week learning of forbidden lore, trying to perfect his art, even as he ran from his former brothers. As Darius sat, deep in meditation, the ship rumbled and a large breach was detected. All 6 marines shot up, as they ran to the bridgehead, the location of the breach. Sergeant Veeran Vibius looked back to the men under his command, 30 of the finest men of the Assault house, all tasked to bring down Darius. He turned back and looked around the ship. It was uncorrupted, although messy and filled with scrolls and data-slates. He felt a pang of regret. He had talked to Darius before his fall, and he considered him to be one of the more loyal marines within the chapter, very skilled and a good tactician, despite his short temper. He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts, as he heard many footsteps approaching his position. He gazed into the eyes of the Librarian, driven crazy by forbidden knowledge, he raised his boltgun… Darius stopped dead as he saw who was there, his former brothers, driven to hunt him by zealots in higher positions. A single bolt raced towards him, before freezing in mid air. He drew his sword, ready for the potential fight ahead. He did not wish to kill his brothers, but they wished to kill him. As one member of the boarding party pulled out an axe and charged, Darius put a single bolt into his head and looked with grim determination. Warp energy flooded through his veins and suddenly he leaped forward. Veeran watched one of his men charge into the fray, before getting blown to pieces. The next thing he knew he had fallen over, then he knew no more... Part 3 1 Terran year later Darius stared at his hated foe. The Inquisitor had become more and more insane and twisted, driven to the edge of madness by the Gods. The Librarian drew his sword, snarling as he looked into the soulless pits that Adelyn called eyes. Adelyn stared down the space marine, her body swelling with warp power, as she drew a axe much too big for her. The Inquisitor had been rogue for years, her status protecting her from being declared a traitor. She had since gone around the galaxy, scouting out the most powerful of the Imperium’s soldiers and declaring them heretic, to pursue her own hidden agenda. She leapt forward, slashing with surprising grace as the huge axe cut through the air, before clashing with Flesh Reiver. “You won't break me, heretic,” yelled Darius, as he pushed the traitor's blade away with ease. Adelyn screamed an unholy sound, as her jaw dislocated and blood started pouring out of every orifice. The Forces of Chaos were coming. Darius looked around, dazzled, then looked back at his foe, just in time to dodge a decapitating blow. He drew his bolt pistol and put a single round into the Inquisitor, blowing her chest open. Brother Satquel walked down from the Thunderhawk, addressing Darius before walking off over the planet's surface and into the night. Part 4 3 Terran years later Darius laughed, a low, hollow laugh. His eyes had become swirling pits of madness, as he had become more and more corrupted. Tzeentch had taken his toll on Darius’ soul, as the forbidden lore worked its way into his brain. He gazed upon his target, the fortress world of Kuinov. His eyes were rage-filled as he drew his sword, ‘Flesh Reiver’, blood still on its blade. The ship landed, its landing gear activating even as the mad Librarian stepped out of the door. The Guard regiments of the planet opened fire immediately, even as their muscles were stopped in place and their guns exploded in their hands. He lept forwards. Dozens of bodies hit the floor in an instant, as the superhuman speed of the Astartes came into full effect. Powerful incantations fell from his lips, warp energy engulfing him entirely. The psychic hood on his head burst into flames, before careering off in a raging inferno, blasting the hab-blocks apart. Satquel looked upon the battle with pleasure flooding him. He had disappeared and fallen to the worship of Slaanesh, perfecting his combat skills beyond that of any other of his brothers, and had slowly developed a cult across the sector, with nearly a dozen planets secretly worshiping Slaanesh, building huge edifices and shrines to the Dark Prince’s divine might. He stalked the edges of the battle, rarely stopping to bark an order at his men, or to deal with a pesky loyalist scouting the area. Darius was looking for something, and he was going to find out what... Part 5 1 Terran hour later The vision hit Darius one final time, as he made the long journey towards the next hive. A flash of crimson armour, an axe, and an unintelligible warcry. He appeared older than before, and was clearly on the brink of madness. He wondered about his vision, but he knew one thing only. He was to die on Kuinov. The Bulls of Retribution landed on the planet, 3 Adrius Pattern Dropships transporting troops to the surface. Ilyanus looked over the deployment, the 11th Company and their bulls landing to make up the majority of the force. His ship landed on the pad, and he prepared to step out and address his troops. “On this planet is a filthy heretic! The Imperium have been searching for him for years, and the longer we wait, the more powerful he gets! We track him down, or die in the attempt. Charge with your horns brothers!”. As the chapter master put on his helm a returning chant could be heard from the assembled marines. “Charge with your horns!”. As Darius reached the hab-block, the loyalists began their attack, the Riders charging at him on their bulls. The first two fell from their mounts with a flick of his wrist as he drew his sword. He dodged the third bull and ran straight at the last one, grabbing it by the horns and decapitating it in one swoop as he launched himself up, before drawing his pistol and blowing out the brains of the Rider he had neglected. The rest of the Bulls of Retribution charged out, their crimson and gold armour flashing in the sun, as the cursed traitor dodged and weaved between them. Darius cut down a Tactical marine as he ditched his bolter to grab his knife, and knocked another 2 flying with immense psychic forces. Ilyanus strode onto the battlefield, his pistol and axe drawn. He turned to the carnage where the traitor was slaughtering his men. He ran forwards, axe raised, ready to strike. He took a bolt shell to the chest, but his armour stopped it just short of his skin. The chapter master let out a roar of anger as he dug his axe deep into Darius’ armour and blasted a plasma shot at him, but he missed and it hit his leg instead. The accursed traitor leapt up, swinging his sword, as he attempted to bring it down upon the chapter master, but was parried at the last minute. Ilya was a master axe-man, but Darius had the warp on his side. Flesh Reiver lit up bright purple, as Darius swung his arm around to make the final blow that would see Ilyanus dead and the Bulls of Retribution’s morale shattered. A bolt of warp energy struck the former Stormbreaker, as a blue armoured loyalist stepped into view. Darius muttered something completely incomprehensible, before the Librarian was killed in an instant. But it didn’t matter, the chapter master had found an opening, a fatal flaw in Darius’ guard, and he bought his axe down for one final time... Category:Stories Category:Imperium Category:Space Marines